The cold and the darkness
by Unanimous persons
Summary: The black plague. A group of assassins known around the world. When Elsa is the target, Seth, a lead assassin that can control fire, is put to the task of taking care of it. But His dark past and even darker future makes him question himself. when he meets her, his life is turned upside down. Can he protect her from everything that lies in the shadows? Bad summary better story.
1. Chapter 1

**so new story that I just had to put down. Not sure really were this will go but review. Feedback is alway great.**

Far away in a distant kingdom no where near arendel, a black clothed figure crouched silently on the roof of a house and waited. This figure had hair black as night that slicked to one side. his face was long and toned and his eyes were as dark as bottomless pits. or more like eye. this man was perfect in every sense of the word all accept a metal mask that covered the right side of his face and a little down his neck. it shined to a chrome finish and reflected moonlight.

"Seth, come on man we've been waiting for hours. can't we just go in there and kill him?" Said another man dressed the same but with a brown shade of hair and golden eyes. he sat on the roof behind the first man.

"No. be patient Sam. we're assassins not brutal murdurers"

"What's the difference?" Replied Sam tossing a small pebble off the side of the house.

"The difference is that assassination is an art." replied Seth pulling out a pipe from a pouch and sticking it into the left side of his mouth where the metal mask did not cover. he then flicked his finger and a small flame emerged from the tip, illuminating skin and metal. he quickly lit the pipe and waved his hand to put out the flame.

"You never seem to stop amazing me the way you control fire like that Seth." the other man said wide eyed.

Seth shot him a death glare," I don't use it often"

"Yea I know. man I never understood why. you could be so powerful and great."

"You know damn well why I don't use it!" He yelled softly so as to not alert anyone of their presence.

"Yea ok man," Sam replied quickly holding up his hands in surrender. they went back to staring at the window of the man who was the contract, his house still lit with light.

"Man this guy better go to bed soon. our assassins are quickly losing their patience." Sam said changing the subject.

Seth sighed,"again, patience. he'll go to bed soon."

"Yea ok just don't fuck this up. this job pays for our organizations meals for the next couple of weeks. the council will have your head."

Seth scoffed,"I never 'fuck up'. I'm more worried about you. as I recall you screwed up the last one."

"Hey now. no need to bring back bad memories."

The two figures smiled at each other but their smile fell, face now serious when the windows of the house went dark.

"Ok boys. show time. I want this quick and as clean as possible please" Seth commanded putting out his smoke and pulling up his hood as did Sam. he then pulled a cloth over his mouth and mask so that now only a quarter of his face could be seen. He then gracefully jumped from the roof to land on a lower one below him. Sam followed as did 10 other people that were hidden strategically in the shadows. Sam signaled for 3 of them to go to the back window, 3 of them trough the top, 3 of them through the other side, and 1 with them. once inside the house, they crept silent as death towards where the man lay asleep. the figures enclosed around the unconscious man and drew their knives. of course they didn't need all of them, it was just a precaution. only one blade was needed. the half metal faced man walked through them and stood over the snoozing man. he drew his long knife and the last thing that he saw was the mans terrified eyes before he drug the blade across his throat.

...

"Great job out there!" Sam yelled clapping seth on the back. his men had retreated to their abode and we're celebrating a job well done. "the council has no reason not to promote you now!"

As if on cue, two executives walked through the raucous party and straight up to where Sam and Seth sat. "the high council wishes to see you Seth ditroz "

"Of course" Seth replied standing up. he followed them men through the party but not before catching the wink that Sam sent him before he left.

They walked through a long hallway until they reached a circular room with 12 hooded figures sitting atop a tall row of seats that lined the back wall.

"Seth ditroz please come forward" the main figure spoke. the masked man slowly walked forward and knelt before replying. "my lords, how may I serve you this evening."

"It has come to our attention Seth that you have exceeded in you position as a leader of a small squad that executes missions with little to no problems." the main figure continued." you are easily our most skilled fighter and have worked your way up from when you were just a boy."

Seth simply nodded as he listened.

"We are promoting you to legion commander. you are now head of a 50 to 100 headstrong group of assassins and will be executing more difficult missions."

Seth nodded again.

"That is all. do you have anything to say Seth ditroz?"

"Thank you" he said simply. with that he turned and walked out. he walked back to the party only to be greeted by his best friend,"ah mate, how'd it go? Did you get the promotion? Are you a legion commander?"Sam asked, drink in hand.

"Yes"

"I knew it!" Sam yelled holding up his drink. "tonight is a night of celebration my friend" he chuckled.

"Sure but if you could excuse me for a moment. I have to get some air"

"Oh but of course! this must be such a surprise. not really but it doesn't matter. I can see why you would need some time." Sam walked away to go and chat with more men telling them the good news.

The masked man stepped out onto the overhang, the entire town below him. there was no other sight like it in the whole kingdom. a cool breeze hit his face and for a moment he wished he could take off the mask that covered most of his face. But what lied underneath it was so horrible he rethought. his mind raced to that man that he had slaughtered just hours ago. his horrified and yet terrified expression burned into his mind and soul. he had no idea what this man had done to deserve such a fate. they were simply paid to do something and do it without question. Seth let out a long exasperated breath and sat down to gaze upon the town light that shined off his mask and over his skin. He reached up and touched his mask softly but let his fingers fall. his mind would not let that man from his thoughts. a tear rolled down his left eye as he thought about it again. "how much longer can I do this" he thought. he was so tired of killing. each person slaughtered left a scar on his mind and tore a piece of his soul with it. how much longer before he was no longer a person but an empty shell of a man who now on the inside was a monster. he couldn't leave, they'd only find him. He couldn't tell anyone about his second guessing loyalty or they'd kill him on spot. and now he was a legion commander. "more death" he whispered silently.

After about 30 minutes, he got up and returned to the celebration only to find his men circled around a piece of paper all yelling and shouting with joy.

"What is this" he commanded walking through the group and straight up to the paper.

"It's another contract!" Sam yelled excitedly," except the reward for this baby will be enough to set us up for 50 years!" A rise of shouts filled the air. "Pack your bags boys were taking a vacation! we're going to arendel!" Another rise of shouts filled the night. Seth picked up the paper and read:

Doner: unanimous

Place: arendel

Conditions: target extremely dangerous.

Reward: 1,000,000,000

Target: queen Elsa of arendel.


	2. Chapter 2

**so yea still kinda don't know where this is going but... yea. Review!**

The town was bustling with joy and laughter as four black ships rolled into the docking area. The only reason that this scene was not suspicious was because they were covered by the other masses of ships that were also entering the harbor. Apparently the 'queen' was throwing some kind of party. Something about courting or whatever. Seth stood, hands gracefully put behind his back as he observed the happy town before him. Meanwhile Sam stood next to him except with his head overboard seizing from sickness.

"Oh... man I kill people for a living and a damn boat makes me spill my cookies?" He said after regaining his posture."And to think we had to spend an entire month on this hell rig."

Seth simply shot him a half smile. Once docked both of them stepped off onto the wooded floorboards.

"Hey I'm going to go...scout" Seth said looking around."

Sam sat heavily on the solid ground praising god for it,"yea sure man. Whatever". With that Seth stepped away leaving a slowly recovering Sam behind him.

"This place is beautiful" he thought while walking down the road. So full of life and happiness. The queen can't be that bad if she can run a kingdom like this.

Suddenly snapping him out of his trance was a single scream from an ally not far away. No one heard it but him due to his heightened hearing from years of training. He quickly sprinted to the ally and saw 4 burley men circling and pinning a small red headed girl to the wall. "Do you know who I am!?" Yelled the girl while trying to fight off the restraining arms.

"Of course we do," replied the man with a wicked smile,"that's why we're doing this."

"I have no money on me!" She yelled.

"That's ok. we don't want your money. we want you"

"No" Seth saw her gasp. "Please" she said louder. "I-ll go get money or anything just please, no." Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

The four man laughed as if they found amusement in her suffering. It made the metal of his mask burn hot with anger. Venom filled his veins and death filled his eyes.

"See when I'm done with you, if your still in one piece, then Frank over here is going to go at you. Then Mike over there." A sob left her throat as the man started to unbuckle his belt. At this, Seth held little restraint for these criminals.

"hey!" he yelled. Four heads turned his direction.

"This is none of you business pretty boy. Just move on." The man gave an evil laugh before saying something that really made his metal red hot with anger."or you could stand there and watch if you like."

Seth walked forward into the ally and stopped about 5 feet from where the closest man stood. "I will give you all one chance to release the girl and get you filthy asses out of here."

Again the men laughed and then drew swords from their belts. They all turned to face him except one who held the girl In place. "I don't know if you've realized but there's 4 of us against 1 of you and that pretty helmet of yours won't save you."

Seth shot death at them In his eyes and for a moment, he saw fear in the criminals face. "I gave you a chance. but you only get one". With that he held his arms out to the side, mocking them to come on.

After a moment of silence the first man charged, sword raised and poised to strike. He ran fast at the masked man and swung down toward his head. only he wasn't there any more. He moved so fast you could have missed it in a blink. After the man's swing he quickly moved around to his back and slammed his heel into the side of the man's knee. A Loud snap could be heard as the man screamed, dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees. Then, impossibly fast, he grabbed the man by the head and snapped his neck. The once living man face planted into the concrete in front of him leaving the others stunned. It lasted less than 3 seconds.

"I warned you!" he yelled through gritted teeth. The leader and another came at him swords also raised. He quickly dogged both swipes and maneuvered around them. Then he swept the feet of the other man making him land hard with a thud. Seth brought his hand down like a karate chop and crushed his air pipe. The boss swung again but missed again and with a flash, Seth had his arm behind the main criminals back. With a quick upward thrust he broke his arm and flung him to the ground where he lay reeling over his pain. The silver masked man then walked toward the last man who still held the girl firmly. The man, threw the redhead at him and charged hoping to catch him off guard. Seth quickly caught her an set her down gently before spinning and slamming his palm directly on the last man's nose, crushing it and sending his nasal bone into his brain.

He then walked casually over to the leader who still held his broken arm. "please man" he said tears running down his cheeks. "show some mercy!"

"I gave you a chance and you threw it back in my face." He stated firmly standing over the crippled figure. Meanwhile the figure simply repeated the word mercy over and over. Seth knelt down to his level and spoke softly to him. "god has mercy" he said calmly. A hint of hope filled the criminals eyes but it quickly turned to horror with this masked man's next words,"but I don't". Then only the quick glint of sunlight off a blade that seemed to emerge from nowhere could be seen as it sliced across his throat. He wiped off the blade and quickly went to the girl's side.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes. thank you for saving me" she replied as he helped her up.

"It was mere nothing. I assure you"

"No" she cut off," it wasn't just nothing. Those men were going to do unspeakable things to me and you... you killed them. You didn't even draw your sword. you saved me"

Seth smiled and bowed,"and whom do I have the pleasure of saving on this gorgeous morning."

"Princess Anna of arendel" she replied curtsying politely. He stiffened,"did you say princess?"

"Yes" she said smiling. This was the sister of the woman he was sent to kill. "It's an honor" he said bowing again. Anna blushed before realizing that she had no Idea who he was.

"I forgot to ask whom it is that saved me." she said.

"Seth ditroz at your service mylady." he said bowing once more.

Anna smiled,"well thank you Seth ditroz. Is there any way I can repay you for what you've done here?"

Seth was about to deny her offer but she quickly spoke before him, "I know! you are invited to our masquerade ball at the palace in a couple of days. I'm sure my sister the queen would love to meet the man who saved me."

"Oh no I couldn't" he tried to turn her down politely.

"Nonsense, You have a higher etiquette than any prince I have ever met. Plus your humble, which is more than I can say for any of them. And on top of that! it's a masquerade ball! you'll fit in perfect because of your...you know" Anna tapped the side of her face. "speaking of which, why do you wear that?"

Seth ignored her question," it was nice to meet you your highness an I will consider your offer." With that he turned and walked off to get back to the boat.

"Strange" Anna whispered before walking to go back to the castle to tell everyone of what happened.

...

"We should attack tonight and just get it over with!" yelled Sam before pulling a knife and digging the tip into the table of the captains quarters.

"No we can't. There is a palace full of guards. We'd never get away with it without being noticed." Explained one of the many squad leaders that surrounded the table.

"Yes we can as long as it's well planned-"

"He is right!" Seth exclaimed walking through the doors. "we'll never be able to get away with it without being noticed."

"Legion commander" they all said kneeling. All except Sam who stood with his arms crossed.

"We can, Seth, I know it!"

"No we can't" he replied walking up to the table. All the squad leader now stood. "But I have a plan"

Now everyone looked at the two faced man expectingly. "As fate has it, I ran into none other than the queens sister today and I miraculously saved her life from a bunch of thugs, god rest their souls."

Everyone at the table chuckled slightly before returning to their seriousness. Seth continued, "apparently I am now invited to meet the queen at their upcoming ball."

"What?!" They all yelled together. "you're going to meet her?!" Yelled Sam after everyone. "that's crazy!"

"You didn't let me finish!" Seth yelled over the barrage of yelling and protesting. The room fell silent. "I'm going to infiltrate the castle through this party and get to know our target a little better. Then when she trusts me I will lead her into a room and take care of her. How does that sound?"

A long moment passed but slowly each face turned a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**reviews, follows, and favorites are greatly appreciated. Enjoy!**

"Anna!" Kristoff yelled busting through the doors at break neck speed. He rushed in to find his princess sitting on the couch with a blanket over her shoulders and a cup of tea in her hand. Elsa sat mere feet away staring at her with concern stitched to her features. A large fire had been made in the fireplace and Anna was staring at it as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. At the sudden movement though ,both women looked up.

"Anna, oh my god! Anna !" he said sprinting to where she sat and pulling her into a tight embrace though being carful to not spill her drink on her.. "I heard what happened and came back as fast as I could. God Im so stupid! I should have been there to protect you. I'm so sorry!"

"What?" Anna said confused " oh no Kristoff. don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Don't think that everything bad that happens to me is your fault. It's not!" She explained before giving him a small smile.

"Anna what happened? Are you hurt? Did they touch you?" Kristoff rapid fired questions while throughly looking over her face and arms. "I swear when I find them I'll-"

"You'll what?! Kill them? Well it's to late for that."

Kristoff looked at her genuinely confused and looked to Elsa for help but she simply held up her hands ,"hey don't look at me. She hasn't said a word about what happened till you got here."

Kristoff looked back to the red head,"Anna, what happened?"

The princess sighed and set her cup down on the wood table before continuing slowly," well I went out for a walk ,cause you know it's such a nice day out, and I was walking through a backstreet and was almost to the main square when these four guys just came out of no where and cornered me. I told them I didn't have any money but..." Her eyes filled with tears but none fell.

"But what Anna?" Kristoff urged.

"But that's... not what they wanted."

Kristoff clenched his jaw and made fists from the white hot rage that had built up inside him, threatening to explode on anyone or thing."and what happened after that?" He said through gritted teeth.

Anna saw his enraged expression and gave his arm a reassuring rub, calming his nerves just a bit. Then she continued,"well I thought that this was going to happen and I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. Then this guy appeared and he told them to go away. They attacked him to but h-he killed them all. He saved me."

"Do you know what this hero looked like?" Asked Elsa who now was anxiously biting the nail on her thumb.

Anna nodded then started to describe the strange man," yea ,he had black hair that would have fallen in front of his eyes if not slicked to the side. Speaking of which, his eyes were just as black but they held a sort of sadness and fear under it. kinda like how yours were, Elsa, before I knew you had powers."

At this, Elsa's eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. "how strange" the queen thought to herself.

"he wore all black clothes that were very formal and a broadsword at his belt." Anna continued.

The crowd of two listened intently as she described him.

"He was tall, thin but quite muscular, and he was the best fighter I've ever seen. better than any guard we have. altogether he was...kinda hot"

Kristoff grumbled jealously at her comment,"so on a scale of one to ten how hot was he" he said sarcastically.

"About an 8 and a half, maybe 9" she replied not sensing his tone but then cringing as she realized who had asked her,"but don't worry Kristoff your like a 12" she said quickly.

"Thanks" he grumbled.

"Getting back to the topic, is that all you saw Anna" Elsa said after clearing her throat.

"Yea that's abo- wait!" she yelled suddenly remembering,"he also wore a steel mask that covered the right side of his face. oddly enough he also wore a black glove but only on his right hand. Anyway, I asked him about it but he totally ignored me and walked off saying he would think about my offer."

"Your offer?" Asked Elsa,

"Oh...yea. Um I kinda invited him to our masquerade ball."

"You what?!" They both yelled making the princess wince.

"Yea, it was the least I could do. He did save me from unspeakable horror. Plus I thought Elsa would want to meet him."

"Anna! what have we told you about strangers? You can't just invite people you don't know." Kristoff explained pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Well I can't uninvite him. Come on just give him a chance. Were would you be Kristoff if I hadn't givin you a chance." A silence fell over the room as all of them just stared at each other. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the queen broke the silence, "fine" she grunted. "I'll give him a chance"

Anna squealed in joy,"oh thank you thank you thank you. You won't be disappointed. He seemed like a great guy". The other two just rolled their eyes.

...

"The target is queen Elsa." Sam stated while the other leaders as well as Seth stood and listened. Only a single candle stood on the table which Was the only thing separating them from complete darkness. It lit the room and cast eccentric shadows on the walls. This was an informational meeting on the queen. It was always best to know your target or opponent before you killed them. Sam continued,"her sisters name is princesses Anna. They were thick as thieves when they were younger but Elsa hit Anna in the face with a load of ice. She then shut Anna out for 13 years and lived it in isolation."

Everyone in the room nodded and took in this information.

"She is said to be extremely dangerous and She is known as the ice queen."

"Why do they call her this?" Asked a squad leader.

"Because...she has the power to control ice."

Immediately every set of eyes landed on Seth and Seth alone. His steel expression never wavered nor changed. He was like stone. The only thing he did was turn and leave the quarters. "Seth! wait!" Sam yelled running after him. The man emerged from the confinements to see Seth standing on the deck, arms crossed, overlooking the lit town. A subtle gust of wind shifted his hair ever so slightly as the candlelight that emerged from the windows of the darkened kingdom illuminated and shined off the metal on his face.

"You don't have to do this you know" he said once he got close enough,"I could go in your place and tell them that I ...well...took your place."

"No" Seth replied shaking his head,"it has to be me. I'm the only one she can't hurt with her ice." Sam was going to object but realized that he was right. So they simply stood and both watched the town flourish at night from the deck of their ship.


	4. Chapter 4

The elegant ballroom was filled with candlelight and laughter. It seemed as if all Royalty from every distant kingdom was in the same room. Seth stood by himself against the wall simply watching and absorbing. He remembered seeing the massive castle doors as he approached as well as the even more massive line to get in. Everyone around him wore a variety of masks and headgear. Some were the most ridiculous things he'd ever seen. They resembled animals such as peacocks and lions while for others it was simply just a mask. His own metal mask blended him with the crowd as if he were just a random guest that you didn't have the time to even look at. Seth continued to scan the crowd, crossing his arms and leaning against the stone wall, until he saw a certain red head start making her way through the crowd. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Hey! You!" He heard the girl named Anna yell. Seth smiled as he watched Anna awkwardly make her way through a group of people. This girl held so much energy and happiness as if the darkness of the world had not yet reached her. Not yet had the chance to darken, and stain the white purity of her soul. Or corrupt and twist it to the point of unrecognition. This impossibly happy girl practically skipped to where he stood, a wide smile portrayed on her face. "Hey you made it" Anna said skidding to a halt only a few feet in front of him. Seth corrected his posture and stood up straight, brushing himself off before gently folding his hands behind his back,"wouldn't miss it for the world you highness" he replied smiling. "Anna! wait up!" Suddenly a large blonde man ran up behind her and stopped short to catch his breath. "Where were you?" Anna asked raising an eyebrow. "I lost you somewhere around the last hallway." "We were looking out the window when you just ran off! I didn't even notice you left until I looked and saw you turn the corner!" he complained throwing his hands up. The red head blushed,"oh yea. whoops." "Your lucky l love you so much" he replied wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into a quick kiss. "Love? So the queens younger sister has a suitor but she dosent? Odd" he thought but continued to smile. Anna pulled away quickly remembering that they were in the company of another. "Oh uh Kristoff...this is... what's your name again?" She asked . "Seth ditroz your highness" he reminded her politely. He didn't mind that she'd forgotten his name. In fact, it was better for him if she did. "Right!" she exclaimed,"Kristoff this is Seth ditroz, Seth this is Kristoff my...boyfriend." "You hesitated!" Kristoff gasped looking hurt. "What? N-no, no I didn't. Anyway, this is the guy who saved me." she said quickly changing topics. Kristoff turned his gaze to the masked man, smiled, and then held out his hand. "hi, it's nice to meet you." he said in the most formal tone he could muster. "Likewise" Seth replied taking his hand in a firm grip. Even with Kristoff trying to be elegant, Seth beat him without trying. Every move he made radiated with grace and unnatural beauty. "I just wanted to thank you for saving Anna. It really means a lot to me, She really means a lot to me." Kristoff said. Seth just shook his head,"as I told the young lady here, it was nothing." At that Anna broke in,"you can't be that old. You look about my sisters age which is only 2 years above me so I don't know if 'young lady' really fits considering the way you said it." Seth looked confused,"um sorry. it was only a compliment your highness but I apologize." "Oh! oh um. No I understand now." She replied now embarrassed from her act of awkwardness. At that moment, Kai stepped to the front of the room and loudly cleared his throat so as to get everyone's attention, which he did. Everyone in the room fell silent before he spoke,"I would now like to introduce the royalty of arendelle!" "Oh that's my que!" Anna said quickly. She gave Kristoff another kiss before running up towards the front leaving both men staring after her. "Princess Anna of arendelle!" Kai yelled just as she got their. Anna moved to stand next to the throne where her sister ,the queen, would finally make an appearance. "All bow before queen Elsa of arendelle!" Seth started to bow along with everyone else, eyes still looking for said dangerous queen. But when he saw her step out from behind the side curtains, his heart froze. Graceful as a goddess, making her way to her throne was a woman with the fairest of skin and platinum hair. She wore a blue crystal dress that griped her body tightly revealing every curve, which he tried not to notice but failed horribly, and left a slit that went from the bottom to her thigh on one side. Her perfect smile seemed to light up the room with an aura so immense, so...palpable that everyone just stopped for a moment to stare in awe before applauding loudly. And her eyes...her eyes...they were the most beautiful yet mysterious things he'd ever seen. Like blue diamonds they tinkled with love, authority, pride, humility, and integrity. But underneath the covering they held fear and regret and an eternal sadness. And only someone who has experienced the same would know it. This woman, this...Elsa. She had been through the same thing he had. She knew what it was like, she would understand him. And yet still, he would have to end her. "Hey!" Anna exclaimed snapping her fingers in front of his face. "What?" He replied snapping out of his trance. He hadn't even noticed that the people had stopped applauding and were now doing regular activity. Neither had he noticed the red head girl approach him, which was extremely strange because he noticed everything. "Come on" Anna gestured for him to follow,"I want to introduce you to someone". He followed as requested through the crowds until they reached the place where the goddess like woman stood greeting royalty from all over as they tried to woo her. Overall she looked rather unimpressed but wouldn't dare tell any of them this. "Elsa!" Anna yelled. The queen looked at her sister before excusing herself and walking over to were they stood. "Elsa this is Seth, the man who saved me." Anna explained practically shoving Seth at her but due to his advanced stability, caught himself before completely crashing into her. He looked behind him to glare at the red head but she was no longer there so he looked back to the queen. "Oh um it's an honor" he replied bowing slightly after awkwardly regaining his footing. "The pleasure is all mine," she responded curtsying,"me and my sister are forever indebted to you." "No-" Seth started but was rudely cut off by a short stocky looking man with a scrunched up face and fat little legs. "Your majesty! may I have this first dance with you? I'm sure you must have learned to dance by now " He asked ,over exaggerating a bow and kissing her hand. The queen looked slightly disgusted and politely pulled her hand away, "oh I would but um... I... Um...promised Seth here that I would give him the first dance." she replied smiling that she had found a way out. "What?" Both Seth and the stocky man said spontaneously. "Yes. I promised him that I would let him have first dance." she repeated again then looked to Seth with an expression that said "help me". "Uh yes. I am to have first dance" he acted, pretending to be all high and mighty. The man looked between the both of them giving Seth some dirty looks before storming off. Elsa let out a relieved sigh,"thank you". "No problem" he replied. They stared at each other, smiling, for a long time before Seth cleared his throat,"may I have this dance?" He jokingly over exaggeratedly asked. The queen giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, before taking his. 


	5. Chapter 5

The two made their way to the floor and took position with the others. Once there, Seth put a hand on her waist as she did with his shoulder. The music started and they were off.

"Thank you again for that. I really preferred not to dance with him. The last time I did I couldn't feel my toes for a week,"Elsa stated after a minute or so.

Seth simply chuckled before the conversation fell back to the awkward silence. After another full minute, he maned up and dared to look up from his spot on the floor to her. There they were again, staring, studying, twinkling. The diamond like eyes of this beautiful yet mysterious queen.

"So how are the open gates going" Seth asked trying to make conversation.

"Oh wonderful." she replied looking a little shocked that he spoke."the kingdoms people have never been closer to each other because of it".

He let out a small laugh,"I didn't mean those gates." At that Elsa slipped but Seth caught and corrected her to make it seem as if she didn't.

"I-I don't know what you mean" she said after a moment.

"Yes you do. Don't try to hide it." He responded giving a kind smile,"I see it in your eyes that under all the love and strength, there is still fear and pain and regret."

"And how do you know this?" She asked now not meeting his eyes but staring off into the distance or at the floor.

"Because I see that in myself" he finally responded. Elsa sucked in a breath and looked back to him. This stranger, tall and confident, knew nothing about her yet he also knew everything. A pressure built in her chest as a blush spread over her pale cheeks.

A frost started to crawl up her arms and into her fingertips. "oh no. I'm going to freeze him." She thought as she watched the frost slowly crawl toward his hand. Slowly and horribly the cold reached her fingers but then did something that has never happened before. It stopped.

Her powers covered anything and everything It wanted to when she wasn't in control. So imagine her surprise when her ice simply stopped in her fingers and did not dare crawl upon the hands of the strange man.

Elsa looked up from her hand to study him but he simply smiled down at her. The song ended and he let go. Seth then bowed,"it was an honor" he said formally. "but I must be going".

"What?" Elsa replied slightly startled.

"Yes. It's getting quite late and I feel I should be off-"

"You can stay!" the queen blurted but then blushed.

Now it was Seth's turn to say "what?"

"All royalty is allowed to stay at the castle for the remainder of their stay here at arendelle." she finished.

"But I'm not royalty your majesty" he replied humbly.

"I'm sure I wouldn't mind"

Seth smiled again flashing her a set of perfect white teeth that made her heart flutter in her chest.

"thank you". With that he walked off leaving Elsa, who was still somewhat shocked and wondering what just happened, by herself. She did not see him again that night. Instead, For the remainder of the night she danced with a multitude of other men, each telling her stories of their magnificent kingdoms but she paid little attention. Her mind was off on the first man she danced with that evening and it continued to be so until she laid her head down on her pillow and drifted into a deep sleep filled with dreams of him.

...

Seth closed the door to his temporary room before sliding down the door to a sitting position. "you idiot!" he said to himself, "of course you had to go off and judge her then just leave her in the middle of the room. You could have done more. Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" he said slamming his head into the wood behind him repeatedly.

He let his head fall into his knees before murmuring out,"you really need to work on your entering skills."

Sam moved out of the shadows that hid him in the corner of his room,"how did you know I was here?"

Seth picked up his head slowly, his face expressionless,"first, you left the window open at an odd angle. Second, the rug by the window is slightly kicked up from a quick entry. Third, some of the fabric of your shirt got caught on the window sill..."

"What?" Sam said looking and finding the spot where his shirt ripped.

"I could go on for hours" Seth finished, his face still slack.

"How did I know you would know it was me?" He asked.

"Because if I didn't, you'd be dead."

"I'm guessing it didn't go so well then" Sam asked plopping onto the bed.

"It was terrible! I completely froze and lost all my cool around her." he yelled throwing his face into his hands.

Sam jokingly looked shocked,"well that's a first. The cunning and smooth Seth losing his cool around a girl? That's impossible"

"I'm serious!" Seth replied standing now,"I had everything planned on how I would entice and mesmerize her to absolutely adore me but then I saw her and... I-I just ... She was just so beautiful, no, gorgeous! She was...perfect."

Sam suddenly stopped as a look of seriousness replaced his once playful one,"wait...your not... falling for this woman are you?"

Seth's eye almost popped out of his head,"What?! No! Of course no- well... Maybe. I don't know!" he confessed.

"Can't you see what she's doing to you?! She's seducing you to want her. To trust her. That was your job!" Sam continued. "man's worst weakness besides maybe greed has always been women! And you just demonstrated that."

Meanwhile Seth just simply shook his head,"I don't know man, she's nothing like how people said she was I mean she's not evil or mean or even the slightest bit rude. All I saw in her was love" he replied making sure to leave out the part about the fear and regret he saw.

"Your crazy! your absolutely insane! Sam now yelled while starting to pace the floor, completely ignoring what he had just said,"I mean I'm all for you finding some nice girl somewhere and having a family and all. You know maybe a house and a couple of kids running around yelling 'hey Uncle Sam!'. But, NOOOO, you have to go off and fall in love with the target."

"Hey I don't know what this is. We can't say it's love ok? So don't jump the gun." Seth replied.

"Ok. you'd better be right."

A long while passed of just staring at floors and walls. "your probably right" Seth said finally.

"Thank you" Sam sighed in relief,"I'm your best friend and I don't want to see you hunted down for backstabbing the plague. Especially over a girl."

"Can't make any promises." Seth joked,"I still remember when you fell for that one broad, what was her name?"

"Kate?"

"Yea her, then she turned and left you for a bigger guy."Seth finished smiling.

"Which I put in the hospital 3 days later" Sam retorted proudly.

The old friends shared a laugh for old times sake. "well you should go, I have to be up early for breakfast with the queen and all the other royal assholes." Seth said while Sam started to walk over to the open window.

"Sure" he replied jumping up onto the window sill,"I'll check back in with you in a couple of days". With that he leapt gracefully into the night leaving no trace that he had been there. Seth stood alone in his room just taking in the room and surroundings.

The scent of freshly cleaned cloth mixed with the aroma of the summer air that gently blew through the open window, rustling the curtains slightly. The smell consisted of pastries and flowers of all assortments. The room was shrouded in complete darkness with only the moonlight to use for vision. It cast it's ghostly glow over the large room. Seth removed his shirt and shoes before turning to the full body mirror that lay next to the dresser. For a long moment, Seth examined his scarred body and once again he found himself caressing his face mask but could not build the courage to remove it. This cruel reminder made him flashback to the horrific incident that happened a long time ago. it did so every single day of his life.

...

"Harold! you're drunk." exclaimed Seth's mother slowly backing away from the oncoming man. "just go and lay down and-"

"Do not tell me what to do woman!" his father yelled stumbling slightly as he said it.

Meanwhile a very small very frightened young boy stood not to far away simply watching his parents fight.

"O-ok calm down" his mother said raising her hands in surrender. But before she knew it, a heavy hand came down and struck her across the face sending her reeling into the floor.

"I'll teach you to tell me what to do" he said angrily pulling a kitchen knife from its nearby holder.

"No. please" she continued scooting back, one hand held up in defeat.

"I'm going to teach you! and then I'm going to teach that dumb ass boy of ours!" he started forward towards her but at the exact moment when the knife was coming down, young Seth yelled "stop!". Then the house blew up.

Coming to his senses but still staring at himself in the mirror, he let out a sad sigh before turning away from the glass, entering his bed, and falling into his usual nightmare filled slumber.


	6. Chapter 6

**I am extremely sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time. I just haven't had much time and may have slightly...forgot but just know that I won't ever leave a story unfinished. Again extremely sorry. Anyway now that's out of the way...enjoy!**

The people of yesterday all sat around the dinning table for breakfast the next morning. The refreshing light of the newly risen sun flowed through open windows that ran along both sides of the dining hall. Seth could smell the heavenly aroma of rolls and eggs and bacon when he walked in to the gigantic room.

Almost everyone was already there due to his slight lateness. It's not because he woke up late either, actually he woke up around 3 or 4 in the morning. Seth never did get much sleep, at most he could gracefully receive 4 or 5 hours before waking in a cold sweat. After the futile possibility of more sleep, he simply got up and decided to wander the castle halls. Seth passed all the guest rooms where the royal slept and was surprised at the lack of protection. He could have easily just walked into any one of these rooms and killed them while they slept. The masked man pushed the dark thought from his mind and moved past. Then he came upon two large doors with blue snowflake like paintings crawling up the door frames.

"This must be the queens room" he thought, "I could probably go in right now and- NO!"

Seth shook his head as if trying to remove the very idea from his brain. This constant war between man and monster raged inside his head at all times. He moved closer to the door and listened. The only sound that escaped was the soft snore of slumber which made him smile slightly. He walked back to his room but then decided he'd just sit in the courtyard and relax. Seth didn't realize the time and thus resulted in him coming in late.

As he walked in, he noticed a few open chairs by the end of the table and started forward but a call of his name made him stop.

"Seth! over here I've saved you a seat," the queen yelled.

Slightly confused, Seth changed course and moved toward the seat right next to her, ignoring all the obvious jealous looks that the other princes were giving him.

"as you wish your majesty" he said then took his seat. Breakfast then officially began as everyone started to take food off the center food trays that sat in the middle of the table. It started with everyone asking how the queen was and how her kingdom was doing, to which she replied politely, was doing well. Then the conversation moved to finances and business as the men argued amongst themselves. Elsa now looked officially bored meanwhile Seth just sat quietly and ate.

Realizing that Seth was not part of that conversation and that he just stared at his plate while he ate, Elsa tried to make small talk,"so how did you sleep?" She asked gracefully putting a piece of roll in her mouth.

"Oh"Seth said startled ,"um great" he lied.

"I'm glad to hear it" she replied before putting another piece of food in her mouth and smiling slightly as she chewed. Seth couldn't help but stare as he thought of how cute she looked when she did that.

"So why do you insist on still wearing that mask" she asked after swallowing," you do know that the ball is over right?"

Seth chuckled slightly with his mouth closed,"I wish it were simple enough that this mask was just a mask that I could remove whenever I wanted, but it isn't. It's a part of me."

"What do you mean?" Elsa replied, confused. "surely that mask can't be actually part of your face."

He chuckled again," no of course not. I use this mask so that people do not think of me as a monster. I use it to help me maintain control over myself. To help cover over the bad memories of the past." He replied lost in thought."I believe it is much like the use of your gloves my queen."he said under his breath.

"Please, call me Elsa" she replied slightly stunned.

"Oh no I couldn't, I shouldn't call you by your first name. That would be indescribably rude"

"I insist" she said.

Seth nodded and smiled,"as you wish my q- I mean, Elsa."

"So how exactly would it compare to my gloves?" She asked after a moment, folding her hands In her lap. She spoke but Seth could tell her mind was elsewhere from the blank look that drifted over her features.

Seth continued to explain carefully,"well you use your gloves to hide your hands which you believe make you a monster. You hide your hands because it reminds you of the day you struck your sister. does it not?" He said all of this very quietly. Most people at the table didn't know of this little accident. But then again, he wasn't most people.

Elsa gasped internally, "how do you know of this incident?" She hissed

"The gloves have helped you maintain control even though they don't actually help, it's only phycological . You could have easily frozen through them if you wanted to but it was the thought that something was there. Am I right?" he finished not answering her first question.

"How is it that you seem to know so much about my past and my powers?" Elsa asked still trying to understand how he just summed her up in less than a minutes worth of speaking.

Seth gave her a quick side smile before turning back to the table,"this food is some of the best I've ever had, you must give the chef my compliments."

She had heard from her sister that he had a tendency to change topic or ignore questions. Now she knew why.

"I will" she responded, not wanting to push the topic. She wouldn't admit it but she slightly wanted to know, and didn't want to know, how much he did in fact know.

They stared at each other for another minute before a voice called Elsa.

"My queen!" said a skinny man with brown hair and a thin bony nose. Both faces turned to the caller as if he were interrupting ,which he was. "Would you like to take a walk with me this afternoon through the gardens. I hear they are beautiful and that the weather is supposed to be exceptionally nice".

The blonde blinked a couple of times as if trying to understand what he was asking, "oh uh I would, but I have a meeting that I must attend today. My apologies."

The face of man who asked, fell. He sat back in his chair while the others looked at him with expressions that mocked him for his rejection.

"Speaking of which I must be going" she said aloud, standing up as she did. Elsa then looked down at Seth and said in a quieter voice,"thank you, I enjoyed the chat. We'll talk later".

"As you wish your majesty" he replied jokingly but serious enough that only the two of them would get the joke. She gave him a face before walking off through the doors. Seth returned his gaze to the others at the table being greeted with only silence and obvious non-contempt and jealous expressions. "Excuse me gentleman" he nonchalantly replied wiping his mouth with his napkin before standing from his chair and silently walking out as well.

...

Elsa was exceptionally good at paying attention at these meeting she attended, although today she found herself in the rare occasion that she could not. Every time the members would start talking, her mind drifted to think of him. The way his mysterious mask moved when he chewed or how he was strong yet gentle. How his outfit fit snug against his cut body exposing muscle. While others preached of the might of their armies and the wealth that they held, all talking about themselves as if what they say would impress her, Seth would talk but it would be just talk. She spoke with him like any regular person, without him swooning and enticing her for her heart. She noticed how all others would come close to the floor before kissing her hand while Seth simply bowed ever so slightly but enough to show respect. He moved with an elegance that was otherworldly and held a same sadness that she held in his eyes. His knowledge on her and her powers fascinated her as if he had the same powers. Even the way he ate was graceful, pulling a fork up to his lips. And his lips...

"Excuse me your majesty!" the head councilman yelled.

Elsa snapped back from her reverie only to notice all eyes upon her. "yes?" She replied.

"We've called your name four times your majesty" he continued, a small smile beginning to form on his lips as well as a slight raise of his right eyebrow.

"Um yes, sorry, I was thinking of something else" she said after clearing her throat and straightening.

"Or someone else? Perhaps a significant other?" He now said raising his eyebrow higher. By now all the men were smiling and chuckling softly to themselves.

Elsa felt a hot blush begin to form on her pale cheeks,"I don't know what your talking about".

"Why are you drawing hearts on the table my queen?"

Elsa looked down to find and intricate ice pattern of hearts spread over the tabletop in front of her which she hadn't even noticed that she had made. Quickly she waved her hand over the design and it disappeared ,"I was bored",she countered.

"Oh please your majesty, we've all seen that look before." he said as they all continued to smile in her direction.

"What look?" Elsa pretended not to know what they were speaking of.

The councilman continued,"why the look of pure joy and bliss of course. We see it in the princess quite often when she dreams of a certain ice master and deliverer." again the room filled with soft laughter.

"May we know his name your highness? Perhaps it is the prince of darton or the duke of castela. Are you feeling serious about this one your majesty? Which kingdom is he from? Are they rich or powerful? Or both?"

The queen was bombarded with questions from all members asking about her love life.

"Enough!" she yelled when she could not take anymore of their asking,"no I will not tell you who it is!"

"So it is true. She does have someone in mind." Another member said."this is wonderful!" He stood clapping his hands together once as he said this.

The red on her cheeks now grew to a dark scarlett. "This meeting is adjourned!" she yelled before storming away, while sets of eyes and smiling faces watched her go.


End file.
